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Haitians In South Florida Mark Earthquake Anniversary

A Haitian man walks by a tent city on January 10, 2012 near Port-au-Prince, two years after the January 12, 2011 earthquake. UN agencies said Haitians face many challenges on the second anniversary of the earthquake that killed more than 300,000 of their people, but those living in camps have dropped dramatically. (Photo credit: THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images)

Neighbors 4 Neighbors

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – It was two years ago a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook Haiti and crippled the Caribbean nation and here in South Florida, Haitians are marking the anniversary with a series of events to remember those lost and still homeless.

The massive earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, killed more than 300,000 people and devastated the Caribbean country’s capital of Port-au-Prince.

More than $2 billion has been spent on recovery efforts, though Haitians have seen little rebuilding as reconstruction projects have gotten snagged in Haiti’s political disputes. Roughly a half-million Haitians are still homeless and live in densely crowded tent camps. A cholera epidemic that began after the earthquake has killed an additional 7,000 Haitians and sickened another 515,000.

Thursday morning in Miami, an Earthquake Memorial Plaque was unveiled at the Little Haiti Health Center, located at 300 NE 80th Terrace.

Thursday afternoon, a partnership of 11 Haitian-American professional, community development and arts organizations released a draft plan addressing the ongoing needs of earthquake survivors still living there.

The aid group International Rescue Committee discussed current conditions in Haiti at a panel discussion at Florida International University. A Tale Of Two Haitis

There will also be a Remembrance Prayer & Mass at Notre Dame D’Haiti Catholic Church located at 130 NE 62nd Street in Miami at 7:30 p.m.

Friday January 13th at 5:30 p.m. there is a prayer vigil and ribbon cutting ceremony for Father Gerard Jean-Juste Boulevard located at 54th Street & North Miami Avenue to the statue of Haitian patriot Toussaint Louverture on NE 2nd Avenue in Little Haiti.